Aligning device for driven belts



July 22, 1930. VEALE I 1,770,957

' ALIGNING DEVICE FOR DRIVEN BELTS Filed Jan. 6, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g'wuenfo'o Charles JVQQIQ.

Patentedhl 22, 1930 lonAnnnsfzr, YEALE OFPACHUQA,gMIEXiGQ Amemwe-nnvxcnron nmvmr nnms i 1M5 n e o nelabes 1:0" ont Q ling 515 1 ratus employed, eonj-unction with belts: :or

Another object of p130- vicle 1 an aligning device 1301; amen lbeltse hi is me haniegilly.simpleymgged lyh oli-v s r ctio and whose upk ep i 4l mfil9 l y go negligible. 1 fi retqf e, v

lb l sflsuch e5 t-ri sm ,7 3 b lt enina ti larlyzcbnveyo elts,

lig m n w t rp lll ys :that s mo: them,

:25 y m n ofridl pul y amqumedkimm a y adja e t th cedg 0f he: belt whi h, pxzevent the la te r mz movii glh er l y yend e m t i a ,pa hldefine b the p111- leys. However, hesep111leysdid not o perate ego ur the el -wi s "normal-1 andiprgper Path ofl ov me Cons quen y;impmpei unctioning-19 i the e ts or ico eyor i te S l e Als th p rati n o th belts but of aligmnent'agains't the guiding pulleys was 35 ike yvto :eau e injury t he b ltm fwell to the belt supports;

"Th .pnnelpal .aim o my iinientibil Ji'sfto obvia ;thedisadm tag ncsl nter dimhe I o zver ptio'n ofpreviously kn0wn-typesoibe1 t aligners byprovidipgfan automatioall-y ope-rab ligning d e which inclu e T {a 'I'pl'urality of pulleys mounted adj'acentjopposite edges of conveyor l belt, and; ,a mechanism operatiwely eonne oted :fio] tahe ipull eys fop" g5 guiding thebelt backfljo it s normalflli-gllfid p e i n in h even I t nov-e's laterally in ther din c m during pouxsepfI-opera- 7 tion; The anechaini smncomprises a reversibk t ain b gearing that; is: tta hed'tom n wv oller pp m mgaponbions-i f ghe bektiw'rvlai 1 on e v V n yors pa s and w ght of. themat xial; ge e almleha eb n m intained p oper 1 H r 7 'ueu' 'ly- Wi hout ":propersalignmenf 05 me env mr :bellt i w l-ih i .ealeqhqortect n ine .my' v Substantially L fiil'ight ienglea no (1 h Path of $11 c n eyo Qr: be l @AE movabl I 1' blo k: threa ed upmih flshe e n eciled v .to. m; pair o devise mounted pon j; urnl table IbQFW BIL hQ'i -PPQ nd-210ml; reaches of the beltkand WhiQbare provided with pair @fd vii esis adaptedto egis emmeied to assume i ngl s ith re peemo he dirq gon o tmn loi-the onv w hehz- Gonne t n bet een A e :mrimwr .elem is;

a arra ged tha ngageme no'f either d qfi thelhe with" one Qfthepnlleys me c hately sets the mechanism in mofqiongto swlngz roll s asupp t g; pontiens q th 1 avery exact. alignment i fal so i omae p where ss ales Lane? employ d i e .rwhieh v he ansported ar .r gist red lalm stec mim ii i nwew belte on a bet r n unde staf d gfloifmyinven fi omreferenc emay nowbehgtipoltlm gcc m.

- Ral y ng r w ngs; .fqr pf ngfi aa -gpartqsb this partia 5 sm s' eo ion, gig; el 'fi l llg de i 'zthe Vie be ng. 1

P Ql't d; be: 1 28 11 por ion o 2;

in Figs. 1 and 2. A pair of housings 14 and. 15 mounted upon the platform adjacent the opposite edges of the conveyor belt rigidly support vertically disposed brackets 16 and and 27, having their upper endportions j ournaled in the bearings 22mm 23, areprovided with intermediate bearings-28 and 29 v horizontally disposed reversible shaft 44, havat the upper portions of the housings 14 and 15, respectively, and pivot-bearings 32and 33 in the lower portions of the housings support the lower portions of the vertically dis posed shafts. Dust-proof caps '34'fand 35 and grease cups 36 and '37 are provided for the purpose of insuring proper functioning of the bearings 28 and 29."

It will be observed that thebearings 22'and 23 overlie the housings '14 and" 15,- and that pulleys 38 and 39 are {rigidly secured to the shafts axially thereof between the bearings 2228 and 2329,respectively'. *The surfaces offth'e pulleys are covered with layers of rubber or'other substanceshaving similar characteristics;

A beveled, gear 42 rigidly secured to the shaft 26, meshes with a similar beveled gear 43, 'that is jrigidly secured tooneend of' a ing supportingbearings 45 and 46in the housings Hand 15, respectively 1 IA tubular housing 47 extending between the bearings 45'and 46f provides a protective covering for the shaft; The other end of theshaft 44 is provided with a beveled gear 4 8, rigidlysecured thereto, which meshesvwith abeveled gear 49 rigidly supported upon the vertically disposed shaft 27; By referring to F i g. 3, it will be apparent that" the beveled gears 42f43 and 4849are so arranged thatthe rotation of the pulley 38and .the'shaft 26 in one direction,. will "cause concurrent, rotation of the pulley 39 and the shaft 27 in the opposite direction, and vice versa. i g

he'lowe'r portion of the shaft '26 is provided with an integral worm 52, meshing with a worm gear 53, that isrigidly supported upon one end ofa horizontallydisposed shaft 54. The other end of the shaftis journaled in a bearing rigidly secured to the housing 15].

Likewise, a bearing 56 mounted uponthe housing 14 rotatably supports theportion of the shaft that is adjacent the'worm'gear 53. A collar 57 abut-ting the housing andirigidly secured upon the shaft, maintains the latter in its proper operative position, bypreventing axialmovement thereof.

' 7 An'intermedi'ateportion o f'the shaft 54 is screw-threaded, as indicated at 58, and a block 59,;having oppositely disposed lugs 62 formed 'integrallythereon, is threaded ,upon the screw-threadedportion of the shaft54; 'End portions 63 of an arm 64, normally disposed at right angles to the shaft 54, are provided with slots 65 within which the lugs 62 are confined. Theother end portion of the arm 64 comprises forked members 66, that are rigidly secured by means of bolts 67 to the first mentioned end portions. The outer ends of the forked members 66 are rigidly'secured, as indicatedat 68, to an elongated plate 69,

; forming a portion ofa turn-table 72. A suitable cylindrical base'7 3, having a bearing 74 therein,-provides aseat for a bearing member 75 of the turn-table. Suitable securing means,

.indicatedat 7 6,.providea rigid connection for the cylindrical member to the platform 10.

The upper portion oftheturn-table comprisesa pair' of vertically disposed brackets 7 8 and '79,,which support a shaft 82, having a central horizontally disposedportion 83 and two" oppositely disposed-sections 84 inclined downwardly toward the central portion. A central sectional'for double roller 85 is journaled upon the section 83, and a-pair of rollers 86 are 1' ournaled upon the inclined sections of the'shaft82. The elongate plate 69-extends parallel to thecentral" portion of'the'shaft 82 beyond the'oute r ends'of'th'e sections84,and istpiv otally connected, as indicated at" 87 and 88 to the ends of parallel and relatively long links 92 and .93,respeotively.- The other'ends of theseilinksare pivoted, as indicated at 94 and 95,jto the opposite ends of'an elongate plate 96'corresponding in shape'and arrange ment to the plate 69. Likewise, the-plate 96 is provided with a central cylindrical bearing 97,}and a bearing 'memberj98 formed upon the plate provides for piv jt'almounting of a turn-table 99, simila'r't'o the turn-table 7 2.- Suitable bolts" '100 rigidly. secure .the cylindriealflbe aring 97 to the platform 10. The turn table 99 includesi vertically disposed brackets 101, which support a shaft 102 having a horizontal section 103 *and; oppositely disposed sections104 inclined inwardly and downwardly toward the central portion. Rollers 105and'106 are journaled upon the respectively. I a H w The rollers 85 86and 1055106 support portions of the conveyor: belt A and, through the actuation of the links 92 and 93 and. the arm 64, they are swung concurrently" about the bearings 75 and 98 by. the pivotal movement of the turn-tables7 2 and 99, according to the lateral directionin which the belt is to horizontaland inclined portions 'of the shaft,

and the shaft54 will alsobe rotated in such directionas to move the 'arm 6'4, and thereby 1 cause the rollers 85j-86 f and 106 to swingabout the bearings 75ja'nd 98 until they are disposed obliquely with respect" to the path.

travel of the belt. When the rollers 8586 and 105-106 assume the position just described the belt will be guided automatically back to its normally aligned position.

Likewise, in the event the edge of the conveyor belt engages the pulley 39, the operation of the shaft 54 and the arm 64l'causes the rollers 8586 and 105106 to swing in the direction opposite that just described, and the conveyor belt will immediately be guided back to its proper aligned position.

The worm gears 52-53 are adapted to be located at either side of the conveyor belt, or a set of these elements can be employed to be operated independently by the respectiverollers 38 and 39.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that as soon as the conveyor belt tends to become disaligned in either direction, the mechanism described will operate automatically to guide it in its normal aligned Accordingly, an operator is not required to attend the device, except occasionally to provide lubrication therefor. The advantages of a device that operates upon such a basis of simplicity and efliciencywill be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Although I have illustrated but one form which my invention may assume and described that form in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited, but that various modifi- 7 the upper reach of the belt and connections between said means and said mechanism, said plurality of means being movable in response to engagement of the belt with the rotatable members for maintaining the beltin a predetermined path of movement.

2. An aligning apparatus for a driven belt comprising a pluralityof rotatable members disposed adjacent the edges of the belt, a device including two spaced sets of rollers dis I posed transversely of and supporting portions of the belt, means connecting the sets of roll:

ers, and a mechanism disposed transversely with respect to the belt and operatively connected to the rotatable members and to the device for actuating the rollers in response to engagement of the belt with the rotatable members.

3. An aligning apparatus for a driven belt comprising rotatable-members supported adjacent the edges of the belt, the axes of the shaft having a driving connection to each of V the rotatable members and a second transversely disposed sh'aft having a member movable axiallythereon, the last mentionedmember having driving connections to the. rotatable members and to the belt-supporting degice for moving the latter with respect to the elt.

4:. An aligning device for a driven belt comprising a plurality of axially stationary rotatable members supported adjacent the edges of the belt,a device including rollers, the latter having their axes disposed transversely of the belt, said rollers providing a supporting trough-like configuration for insuring a like configuration of the belt supported thereon, a screw-threaded rotatable shaft having a block threaded thereon, means connecting the shaft to the rotatable members, an arm actuated by the block for altering the angularity of the rollers with respect to the belt, and

operative connections between said device and the arm.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. 

